Summer I 2014
HIST 390: Europe in the
Age of Fascism
Instructor: Dr. Kevin O'Connor
E-mail: [email protected]
PART I. THE BASICS
Themes and objectives: This course introduces students to the Fascist experience in Europe between 1919
and 1945. While the main focus is on Mussolini’s Italy, the course also considers the rise of authoritarian
regimes during the interwar era and the varieties of “fascism” that appeared in Germany and other European
countries. Among the questions the course will explore are the following: What exactly was “Fascism”? What
was the nature of its appeal in Italy and elsewhere? How did the former socialist Benito Mussolini manage to
create a single-party right-wing dictatorship? How did the Fascist regime rule its people? What was life like
for Italians under the Fascist regime? How did Fascism in Italy compare to Nazism in Germany? What were
Italy’s foreign policy goals under Mussolini? How did the Holocaust play out in Italy?
Textbooks: The following textbooks are required for this course:

S. G. Payne. A History of Fascism 1914-1945. University of California Press, 1995.

Anthony L. Cardoza. Benito Mussolini: The First Fascist. Longman, 2005.

Rosetta Loy. First Words: A Childhood in Fascist Italy. Metropolitan Books, 2000.
Several shorter reading assignments have been posted to Blackboard >> Readings. As this course is
structured primarily as a readings course, students should expect to spend between one (1) and three (3)
hours preparing for each class.
PART II. HOW THE COURSE WORKS
A. Course requirements:

Preparation and participation: This course is being conducted primarily as a readings course
interspersed with the occasional lecture. Students are expected to complete all the assigned
readings on time, attend every class session, and prepare for and participate in class discussions.
Expect to spend between 1.5 and 3 hours reading for each class.

Reading quizzes may be given at the beginning of class on any day; they will count towards a
student’s participation grade. Missed reading quizzes may not be made up.
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
Examinations: There are two (2) examinations; these are a midterm and a final exam. They are
scheduled on the dates indicated in the course schedule below. Missed examinations may not be
made up unless the student can document (through Academic Services) that he/she has been ill or
incarcerated.

Map Quizzes: There is one map quiz. The policy for missed map quizzes is the same as that for
missed examinations (see above).

Presentation: The format and content of the project assigned for this course is discussed in a
separate document that is available on Blackboard >> Course Documents.
B. Attendance policy: Attendance is required for each class session and is taken regularly at the beginning of
class. Class begins on the hour. Students who arrive late to class may not sign the attendance sheet and
will without exception be regarded, for attendance-taking purposes, as absent. More than three (3)
unexcused absences will result in failure of the course, as per University policy.
C. Conduct: Students should be tolerant and respectful when others are speaking at all times. Eating, text
messaging on mobile phones, and casually chatting with one’s neighbors are unacceptable classroom
behaviors. [Teacher’s pet peeves: 1) TEXT-MESSAGING. 2) When students begin packing their bags before
the class has been dismissed. 3) Being late. 4) Being unprepared. Please don’t do these things.]
D. Academic Honesty: The instructor will rigorously enforce the academic conduct policies of the university,
including and especially where cheating and plagiarism are concerned. The following is the official policy
on academic honesty from the Gonzaga University website:
Academic Honesty
Academic honesty is expected of all Gonzaga University students. Academic dishonesty
includes, but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, and theft. Any student found guilty of
academic dishonesty is subject to disciplinary action.
Disciplinary action against a student found guilty of academic dishonesty may include,
but is not limited to: (1) a failing grade for the test or assignment in questions; (2) a failing
grade for the course; and/or (3) a recommendation for dismissal from the University.
E. Electronic devices: Electronic devices are convenient and great fun, but your instructor wants the
undivided attention of his students during class.
1) Text-messaging on one’s mobile phone should never be done in class under any circumstances.
Please turn your phone OFF.
2) Laptop computers may be used only with the permission of the instructor.
3) It is forbidden to record electronically (either audio or video) or to disseminate recordings of course
lectures, which are the intellectual property of the instructor. The recording or electronic
transmission of activities that take place in the classroom without the written consent of the
instructor and everyone else whose voices or images are being recorded could result in legal action.
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PART III. GRADES AND WHAT DO THEY MEAN?
A. Purpose of grades: The purpose of assigning grades is to assess the learning that has taken place during a
unit and throughout the semester. In my experience the strongest students are those who are processoriented rather than results-oriented. In other words, successful students tend to be those who enjoy
learning and who are more concerned with intrinsic rewards (acquiring knowledge and skills) than they are
with extrinsic rewards (good grades).
B. Meaning of grades: There is no getting around the fact that grades are fairly subjective: they represent the
grader’s perception of a student’s learning. However, it is up to the student to demonstrate what he or
she has learned through reasoned arguments backed by facts, evidence, and examples. Please note that a
grade of “C” indicates “average.”
average
C+ (77-79)
A- (90-92)
average
C
(73-76)
very good
B+ (87-89)
below average
C-
(70-72)
good
B
poor
D
(60-69)
less good
B- (80-82)
failing
F
(59 or below)
outstanding
A
excellent
(93 or above)
(83-86)
C. Course grades: Grades are calculated on the following basis:
Preparation & participation
Map quiz
Midterm Examination
30%
5%
20%
Presentation
Final examination
Sum
20%
25%
100%
PART IV. CLASS SCHEDULE
(subject to change)
WEEK ONE
Mon. May 19
Course Introduction
Tue. May 20
What is Fascism?
Wed. May 21
War, Revolution, and
Imperial Collapse
Thur. May 22
The Birth of Fascism
Read: Payne, 3-18, 23-34, 441-461.
Read: Payne, 35-55, Payne, 71-79; Cardoza, 1-34.
Read: Payne, 60-68; Cardoza, 35-46 [middle]; Payne, 80-106.
WEEK TWO
Mon. May 26
Creating the
Totalitarian State
Tue. May 27
Hitler and the Origins
of Nazism
Read: Payne, 106-123, and Cardoza, 46-70.
Read: Payne, 56-60, and excerpts by Chamberlain and Ahlwardt (Blackboard).
Read: Payne, 147-164, and Hitler, Mein Kampf (Blackboard).
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Wed. May 28
The Great Depression
and the Nazi
Assumption of Power
Thu. May 29
Nazism: A Form of
Fascism?
Read: Payne, 156-194.
Read: Payne, 196-201, 208-212.
WEEK THREE
Mon. June 2
Italian Society, the Cult
of Personality, and the
Limits of Power
Tue. June 3
Women and Children
Wed. June 4
Race and AntiSemitism
Thu. June 5
Read: Cardoza, 71—102; Payne, 212-224; excerpt from Doctrine of Fascism
(Blackboard).
Read: De Grazia, “How Mussolini Ruled Italian Women”; Gisela Bock, “Racism
and Sexism in Nazi Germany”
Read: Payne, 194-195, and The Nuremberg Laws (Blackboard).
Read: Loy, 1-88. Focus in particular on the question of anti-Semitism in Italy.
MIDTERM EXAMINATION
WEEK FOUR
Mon. June 9
Red Fascism? Stalin’s
Revolution in the USSR
Read: Payne, 129-146.
Tue. June 10
Authoritarian Regimes
and Other Fascist
Movements
Wed. June 11
Read: Payne, 245-252 (Austria); Payne, 267-276 (Hungary); Payne, 277-289
(Romania).
More Fascist-Type
Movements
Thur. June 12
Assignment: Using a blank map, locate and identify Europe’s authoritarian
regimes and fascist-type movements in the 1930s.
Read: Payne, 252-267, 290-327. Students will be assigned to become the
“experts” on Fascism and right-wing authoritarianism in the following
countries: France, Belgium, Great Britain, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Poland,
the Baltic States, Bulgaria. Students should be able to identify: 1) the nature
of the government in power and its leaders; 2) the names of the Fascist-type
movements and their principal leader (if known); 3) the extent to which the
radical right achieved a popular following or had a political impact.
Student Presentation:
Student Presentation:
Fascist Architecture
Fascism in Florence
WEEK FIVE
Mon. June 16
Student Presentation:
Student Presentation:
The Fascist Economy
Fascist Empire: Italian Expansion
Read: Payne, 224-226.
Read: See Tuesday’s assignment.
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Tue. June 17
Territorial Expansion
and the Spanish Civil
War
Wed. June 18
World War II, part I:
The Axis Conquer
Europe
Thur. June 19
World War II, part II:
Collaborationist and
Fascist Regimes
Read: Cardoza, 103-119, and Payne, 227-244.
Read: Cardoza, 121-151; Payne, 355-368 and 375-387.
Read: Payne, 388-411, 421-426, 429-436; Payne, 368-375.
WEEK SIX
Mon. June 23
Tue. June 24
The Holocaust
Wed. June 25
Student Presentation:
Student Presentation:
The Croatian Ustasha
Mussolini’s Last Stand: The Salò Republic
Read: Payne, 404-411.
Read: Payne, 411-414, and Cardoza,
151(top)-157.
Read: Payne, 380-382, 425-420; continue Loy.
Student Presentation:
Student Presentation:
The Holocaust In Italy
Pope Pius XII and Genocide
Read: Loy, 89-174.
Thu. June 26
Student presentation:
Review for Final Examination
Postwar Justice in Italy
Read: Payne, 436-437, and Cardoza, 159165.
Read: Nuremberg Trial
(Blackboard).
Fri. June 27
FINAL EXAMINATION